WTA Eastbourne: Wozniacki recovers from a set down, Bouchard retires from third round match - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

ATP

WTA Eastbourne: Wozniacki recovers from a set down, Bouchard retires from third round match

Published

9 years ago

on

TENNIS – Caroline Wozniacki rallied from a set down to edge Svetlana Kuznetsova with 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1. Daria Gavrilova beat Sara Errani 6-1 5-7 6-2. Eugenie Bouchard pulled out from her third round match against Belinda Bencic Diego Sampaolo

Wozniacki, who won the Eastbourne in 2009, raced to a 5-1 lead but Kuznetsova recovered by reeling off five of the next six games to force a tie-break after saving a set point in the 12th game. Kuznetsova earned six break points in the tie-break and sealed her fourth opportunity with an ace for 7-3. Wozniacki fought back breaking serve in the third game for 2-1 to clinch the second set 6-3. In the third set Wozniacki broke at the start of the start of the third set and pulled away to a 5-1 lead but did not look back this time and clinched the win in the third set with 6-1. It was their 10th head-to-head match. Wozniacki leads 6-4

In the quarter finals Wozniacki will face Andrea Petkovic who beat Coco Wandeweghe 6-3 6-4

“I was 5-1 up in the first set, so when I was 5-1 up in the third set I was thinking to myself that I really couldn’t repeat what happened earlier. I served bette ras the match went on and tried to hit the ball a little earlier. We have played each other many times. She has had a good few years and I am just excited to be in the quarters,” said Wozniacki.

Eugenie Bouchard was forced to withdraw from her third round match against Beinda Bencic due to an abdominal injury as the Canadian player was losing 4-6 0-3

“I kept trying and trying. It was hard for me to put a serve in just because it was hard to put a serve in, just because I felt that pain a little bit. I am going to play at Wimbledon even if I am on one leg.It wasn’t smart  to take a risk and be potentially out for a long time,” said Bouchard

Daria Gavrilova overcame Sara Errani 6-1 5-7 6-2 in two hours and 12 minutes. After Gavrilova swept aside Errani in the first set, Errani got an early break and raced to 5-2 in the second set but the Australian player of Russian origin reeled off three games and broke back to draw level to 5-5. Errani held her serve and won the final two games to take the second set with 7-5 but Gavrilova

Gavrilova made a breakthrough earlier this year when she beat Maria Sharapova in Miami  She beat Ana Ivanovic in Rome in the third set tie-break on her 8th match point

Bencic will face wildcard Johanna Konta from Great Britain who edged Garbine Muguruza 6-4 4-6 6-3 following up with her win over Ekaterina Makarova. Konta broke Muguruza in the second game of the opening set and pulled away to 5-2. Muguruza broke back to claw her way back to 4-5. Konta broke again to clinch the first set with 6-4.

Muguruza broke in the first game of the second set before saving four break points to take a 3-1 lead en route to winning the second set. Konta broke serve in the fourth game of the third set to pull away to 5-1. Muguruza won the next two games for 3-5 but Konta took the ninth game to seal the win.

Agniewska Radwanska, winner in Eastbourne in 2008, cruised past Karolina Pliskova with 6-2 6-1 in 56 minutes. Tsvetana Pironkova rallied from a set down to edge Dominika Cibulkova 6-7(4) 6-4 6-1 after a spectacular match. Pironkova went down a set and a break. At 5-3 in the second set Pironkova was broken back but she broke at the end of a very long game forcing the match to the third set. Pironkova cruised to 6-1 to clinch the win.

Sloane Stephens beat Heather Watson 6-2 6-3. Stephens went up a double break after the first two service games. The US player converted on her second match point to clinch the second set with 6-3.

Petra Kvitova was also forced to withdraw on Monday because of illness.

ATP 250 Nottingham: Bolelli sets up quarter final with Baghdatis

Italian Simone Bolelli rallied from a set down to edge Adrian Mannarino 3-6 6-4 6-4 at the ATP 250 in Nottingham scoring his third win this week after beating Go Soeda and Martin Klizan in the first two rounds.

Both players held serve in the first three games of the opening set. In the fourth game Bolelli converted his third break point opportunity to take a 3-1 lead. Mannarino fought back breaking serve three times to win five consecutive games en route to winning the first set with 6-3.

Bolelli held his serve to love in the opening game of the second set before earning two break points in the next game but Mannarino saved them with his serve and his forehand. Bolelli broke serve in the seventh game at deuce. He held his serve in his next two service games.

The decisive set went on serve until the fifth game when Bolelli got the break. He held his serve after a hard-fought game at 4-3. In the 10th game he closed out the third set with 6-4 holding his serve to 15

Bolelli will face Marcos Baghdatis for the third time in his career (the Italian leads 2-0 in his head-to-head matches against Baghdatis). The Cypriot beat Aleksander Zverev 6-3 6-3.

One day after a three-hour marathon match against Marcel Granollers in which he saved three match points, Giles Simon cruised to winning Joao Sousa 6-4 6-1 setting up a quarter final against Sam Querrey who battled past Pablo Cuevas after two tie-breaks with 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3).

Another match which was decided by two tie-breaks was won by Leo Mayer over Jiry Vesely with 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5)  Mayer will take on Denis Istomin who beat Sergiy Stakhovskiy 7-5 6-4.

Yen Hsun Lu beat number 3 seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-2 setting up a quarter final against Aleksander Dolgopolov who defeated Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-3

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

ATP

Rafael Nadal To Play Laver Cup In Berlin

Published

20 hours ago

on

22/04/2024

By

Rafael Nadal has eased speculation that he might be retiring from the sport soon after signing on to play in the Laver Cup later this year. 

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is the latest player to join the line-up for this year’s team competition which features Europe taking on the rest of the world over three days. It will be Nadal’s fourth appearance in the competition and his first since 2022. He competed in the inaugural edition of the event back in 2017 alongside co-founder Roger Federer. 

“I am very happy to be playing Laver Cup in Berlin for Team Europe,” Nadal said in a press release. “I have some really special memories from my Laver Cup experiences, including all the emotions from London two years ago playing alongside Roger for the last time.”

Nadal’s decision to play comes amid questions about his future in the sport. The former world No.1 has previously indicated that this year could be his last on the Tour but he has stated that no decision has been made. In recent months he has been sidelined from action due to injury setbacks and has only been able to play in two tournaments so far this year. 

“At this stage in my career I really want to go out there and make the most of every opportunity I am given,” he explains.
“Teaming up is always an incredible experience and I have always enjoyed it, the competition is different and exciting. I’m looking forward to going to Berlin and helping Team Europe win back the Laver Cup.”

Other European players confirmed to be playing are Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul have agreed to play for Team World. This year’s event will be held in Belin at the Uber Arena between September 20-22. 

The Laver Cup was inspired by golf’s Ryder Cup. It was co-founded by Federer’s Team8 management company (which he formed with agent Tony Godsick), businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann and Tennis Australia. In 2019 it became an official ATP sanction event and now has a place on the official calendar. 

Nadal is set to return to competitive action at the Madrid Masters which he has won on five previous occasions. He has been drawn to play teenage wild card Darwin Blanch in the first round. If he wins, Nadal will then play Alex de Minaur who knocked him out of the Barcelona Open last week. 

Continue Reading

ATP

Carlos Alcaraz In Doubt For Madrid Open Title Defence

Published

7 days ago

on

16/04/2024

By

Carlos Alcaraz admits that he is not certain if he will be ready in time to play at next week’s Madrid Masters.

The 20-year-old is yet to play a clay tournament in Europe due to a forearm injury which ruled him out of both Monte Carlo and Barcelona. He hurt his right arm whilst training shortly before the Monte Carlo event began. 

It is the latest in a series of injury issues that has affected Alcaraz throughout his young career. Since the start of 2023, he has also been derailed by issues with his abdominal, hamstring, post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscular discomfort in his spine. 

“My feeling isn’t right, but it is what it is. Now I’m fully focused on recovery and I have a little more time,” Alcaraz told reporters in Barcelona on Monday.
“My goal is to try and go to the Madrid Open, but at the moment nothing is certain. I was given specific recovery times and I’ve respected them, but I haven’t felt good. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
“I can’t say I’ll be 100% in Madrid, but that’s my intention. We’ll train and do everything we can so that the feelings improve so I can play a match … It’s also a very special tournament for me.”

Alcaraz has won the past two editions of the Madrid Open, which is classed as a Masters 1000 event. In 2022 he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final and then 12 months later he beat Jan-Lennard Struff in the title match.

The setback comes after what has been a steady start to the year for Alcaraz who has reached the quarter-finals or better in four out of five tournaments played. He successfully defended his title in Indian Wells and then reached the semi-finals in Miami. 

Should he not play in Madrid, it is likely that the Spaniard will lose his No.2 spot to Jannik Sinner who is just over 100 points behind him in the standings. He will still have the chance to play a clay-court event before the French Open with Rome taking place early next month. 

Continue Reading

ATP

Olympic Qualification Is Not the Only Goal For French Veteran Gael Monfils

Published

2 weeks ago

on

10/04/2024

By

Gael Monfils (image via https://twitter.com/atptour)

Gael Monfils admits he doesn’t have too many years left on the Tour but this doesn’t mean his targets are any less ambitious. 

The 37-year-old has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings over the past 12 months following battles with injury. At his lowest, he was ranked 394th last May but is now in 40th position. As a result, he is closing on securing a place in the Olympic Games which is being held in his home country of France for the first time since 1924. The tennis event will be staged at Roland Garros. 

“When I was 400, I was thinking the Olympics would be great, but it’s going to be tough,” Monfils told reporters on Tuesday. 
“There are younger players playing well. If I don’t qualify, I don’t mind. It will just mean I’m very close to the ranking I want to be. That ranking will allow me to find another goal.”

Monfils is already a three-time Olympian but has never won a medal at the event. He reached the quarter-finals of the singles tournament twice in 2008 and 2016. 

Another goal of Frenchmen is the Wimbledon championships which concludes just three weeks before the Olympics begin. The proximity of these tournaments will be a challenge to all players who will be going from playing on clay to grass and then back to clay again. 

“I really want to go and play Wimbledon. I don’t have so many Wimbledons to play in the future. The Olympics is one goal, not the only goal.” Monfils states.
“My dream is of course to be part of the Olympics. I played three times at the Olympics. I’d like to be there again. But I also really want to do well in Wimbledon this year. To reach my goal, it has to be including Wimbledon.” He added. 

Monfils is currently playing at the Monte Carlo Masters where he beat Aleksandar Vukic in his opening match. In the next round, he will take on Daniil Medvedev in what will be their first meeting since 2022. He leads their head-to-head 2-1. 

Medvedev has openly spoken about his roller-coaster relationship with playing on the clay. He admits it is not his favourite surface but how much of a factor could this be in his upcoming clash with Monfils?

“Of course, it’s not his favourite one, but he’s still Daniil Medvedev, and whatever the surface, it’s always very complicated to play him,” Monfils concludes. 

Continue Reading

Trending